Family Matters
by NoLove10
Summary: Sequel of "Soulmate" - Eight years of marriage and three kids, the couple face new obstacles as their kids grow older. New character introduction such as Birkhoff and Sonya.
1. Love Remains The Same

It was a beautiful day on a Saturday morning and Michael was feeling like a lucky man. Despite being in his mid-thirties, he still had it going on. He had woken up early to hit the gym and now he was finally back at home, sweaty yet feeling good and healthy.

Coming home, Michael knew that none of his kid was awake because it was only about ten o'clock and the house was still standing. He made his way back up to his room only to see his wife still lazily sleeping in bed. He smiled to himself as he stripped out of his clothes before he threw himself on the bed.

"Michael, what the hell?" Nikita groaned sleepily at her childish husband.

"Good morning." Michael greeted his wife with a morning kiss on the lips. "Come on baby, wake up! It's ten o'clock and I'm hungry."

Nikita raised her eyebrows. "Why can't you go make your own food?" She asked.

"Why are you my wife?" Michael replied.

Nikita rolled her eyes. "You're so annoying." She said as she pulled the covers away from her body. She was really enjoying her sleep up until now.

She was about to get up out of bed when she felt Michael grab her arm. "Hey, where are you going?" He asked.

"To the bathroom to clean up, then go make breakfast." Nikita replied irritatedly.

"Nope you're not." Michael said. "Not until you give me a kiss."

"No." Nikita said.

"Come here."

"No."

"What do you mean _no_?" Michael raised his eyebrows.

"You're being annoying." Nikita said.

"I'm supposed to annoy you." Michael chuckled. "You're my wife, who else am I suppose to go bother?" He asked.

Nikita sighed. "Well then I guess you don't care if you starve." She said.

Michael grimaced at her. "Nikita DaSilva, you have five second to get your sexy ass back on that bed and love me or-"

"Or what?" Nikita interrupted.

Michael had something much nicer in mind before but since she decided to get cocky, he changed his mind.

Nikita didn't even know when he got off the bed, she didn't know when he got to her side of the bed so quickly but she sure as hell felt him swap her off her feet then throw her on the bed like she weighted nothing and climbed on top of her.

"You were saying?" Michael smirked.

Nikita rolled her eyes. "Are you sure I married you eight years ago?" She asked.

Michael looked as if he might be thinking about it before he nodded. "Yeah, you did." He said. "Now give me kiss."

"No." Nikita shook her head.

"Why?" Michael pouted.

"Because I don't want to." She replied.

Michael frowned. "Are you pregnant?" He asked.

"What?"

"You're being moody." Michael said.

Nikita rolled her eyes again. "I'm not being moody, and no, I'm not pregnant, again." She clarified before she captured his lips in a passionate kiss that lasted longer than she planned. Sometimes no matter how much she can really dislike this man, at the end of the day he's always going to be that guy who can take her to a whole other planet when he kisses her that deeply and passionately. Moments like these makes her proud to have given him eight years of her life.

Her husband can be annoying sometimes, but she wouldn't want it any other way. This man on top of her right now is not only the father of her three children; he's everything that she is. He's the love of her life, her best friend, her lover. He's everything and beyond.

However, their kiss eventually came to an end when they heard three squealing voices at their door.

"You guys need to close some doors, Ewwww!" Hayley commented.

Stephanie nudged her big sister in the arm. "Shut up, Hayley. They're cute."

Both Michael and Nikita rolled their eyes at their children who were currently walking towards them on the bed.

"Is there anything you'd like to say too, Izzie?" Michael asked.

The two year old nodded. "Kiss again!" She exclaimed.

Michael giggled proudly as he kissed the child on the lips. "You're definitely my daughter."

The corner of Nikita's lips tipped up and her eyebrows sank into a gaze of disbelief as she pulled Stephanie on her lap and kissed her hair.

"Alright, what are you monsters doing in my room?" She asked.

"It's Saturday, mom." Stephanie replied as she played with Nikita's fingers.

"And Izzie wanted to come to your room this morning." Hayley said.

Izzie pouted at her older sister. "Liar." She retorted. "You're in big trouble, missy."

Nikita chuckled. "Spill it." She said looking back and forth at her three girls.

"We wanted to come annoy you for the first half of the morning until we figure out what we're doing for date night tonight." Hayley replied truthfully.

"Well how about breakfast in bed, mama?" Michael suggested.

"YES!" The three kids shouted excitedly.

Breakfast in bed with mommy and daddy is the best thing to do on a Saturday morning. They can just sit in the middle of their parents; have a delicious, healthy breakfast while watching cartoons. It's perfect.

888

Nikita had gone down the kitchen to get breakfast ready for a family. She didn't know why she agreed to a menu for breakfast this morning and quite frankly, it was a stupid idea because she literally had to make something for everyone.

But then again, she sort of gets a thrill out of it.

She came back upstairs with a large tray of breakfast in her hands with different things.

Izzie wanted homemade oatmeal with cherries and a glass of orange juice. Stephanie wanted chocolate brownie waffles with blackberry sauce and a glass of milk. Hayley wanted toasted raisin scones with strawberry milk. Michael wanted a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel, an apple and a fresh cup of coffee. And for herself, Nikita had a soufflé omelet and a nice cup of coffee too.

Everything was there.

And that look of happiness that was in her kids and husband's eyes when they were eating their breakfast while watching cartoons is a look that will forever stay in her mind. Looking at them make her realize how much she has to be grateful for everyday. It's truly amazing.

Having that feeling of being the best mother and wife in the world really is rewarding…

After breakfast and a few jokes and laughter, the kids ended up falling back asleep between their parents on the huge king sized bed. Yet another beautiful sight.

Three little angels and they were absolutely precious.

"Well look at that." Michael whispered quietly.

Nikita smiled as she stroked Hayley's dark brown hair and kiss Izzie's forehead. "They're growing up so fast." She said tearfully.

"Yeah," Michael agreed. "Hayley's already thirteen, Steph is turning seven soon and Izzie's two." He said proudly. "We did a pretty damn good job raising them but it's only the beginning."

Suddenly he felt kind of old.

Michael grabbed Nikita's hands and kissed her fingers one by one then tightly intertwined their fingers together. "Thank you." He said.

No explanation was needed. Nikita knew why and she never quite understands why he thanks her for what they both worked so hard to have and keep. Maybe it's because deep down she knows how much it really takes to raise three wonderful girls and not three brats. Being a mother and a wife is hard at all times. And hell yes, she takes all the credit she can for making it work eight years and counting in this marriage. It takes a person with lots of heart, care, and determination to handle all that.

In some way, you can say that she's pretty proud of herself. She should be anyways.

"I love you." Nikita finally replied.

Michael smiled as he carefully leaned over the kids and repeatedly pecked his wife's lips. "I love you, too."

The five of them all eventually fell asleep for long hours in each other's arms. This morning was a perfect morning and anything better than the view that was created would be disappointing.

888

The family woke up somewhere between three o'clock in the afternoon to the beeping of Michael's phone on the bedside table.

It was Sean inviting them out for an afternoon activity around six o'clock. Since they didn't even know what they were doing this afternoon for family fun night, Michael quickly took Sean on his offer.

They were going to see a game of polo then have a nice family get together dinner at some fancy restaurant while they're at it. It didn't sound too bad at all for a casual Saturday night.

"Who was that?" Nikita asked sleepily when Michael finally hung up.

Michael sighed. "Sean." He replied. "I think we just figured out what to do tonight for family fun night."

"What?" Hayley asked.

"How does front seats to a polo game followed by a great dinner in the city, sounds?" Michael said.

"Cool." Nikita said quite excited.

She likes horses, it's probably why. And besides, it's family night. She's always looking forward to those.

"Can we fit mini golfing into that?" Stephanie asked hopefully.

"We can absolutely try." Michael replied.

"AWESOME!" Stephanie shouted.

Both Michael and Nikita giggled at their gay-(gleeful) children.

"You buggers better go get ready then." Michael said.

"Hey, I thought we were munchkins?" Izzie objected.

Michael smiled at the little girl then placed a big kiss on her lips. "You can be my munchkin for the rest of the day, how about that?" He said.

"No, I wanna be mommy's munchkin."

Nikita face broke into a wide smile as she looked at Michael who had an aghast look on his face.

It was totally priceless.

"Take that, daddy!" Nikita burst.

"That's how you feel?"

888

The kids had gone getting ready while Michael and Nikita stayed in bed for a few more minutes. They were thinking about redeeming their morning activity to a deeper level but the kids were awake and they had to go get ready themselves.

Pulling away from their blissful kiss, Nikita smiled happily then lay her head on her husband's huge, muscular biceps.

"Do you realize that you're all tattooed up?" She said randomly as she traced her fingernails on his chest.

"Yeah, don't I look hot like that?" Michael teased.

Nikita chuckled. His ego can get a little out of hand sometimes but there's no denying that he does look hot especially with those muscles.

"Yes you do." She replied then kissed his chest. In the process she sniffed him. Usually Michael always smells good but right then…

"Uh, baby you stink." Nikita whispered.

Michael laughed amusingly. "I know." He admitted. "I went to the gym this morning, remember? And I didn't take a shower yet."

"You should go take a shower." Nikita said. "No offense."

"How about we should? You didn't take a shower either, Mrs. Perfect."

He had disappeared under the sheets and before Nikita knew it; her panties were being stripped down her legs and Michael's face was now buried between her thighs with her legs spread wide open over his shoulders.

"Oh, okay." Nikita moaned.

888

An hour later, Michael had finally decided to get up to go take a shower while Nikita was still clinging onto the bed from the aftermath of a powerful orgasm. Though she would have preferred cuddling after Michael just rocked her world, she knew they had to get up to take a shower.

They were really dirty.

"Babe, are you coming?" Michael asked.

Nikita nodded as she continued to breathe heavily. "Yeah, go ahead. I still need a second." She replied.

Michael went to the master bathroom and got the shower started. He washed his silky hair with gel and as he was getting more gel in his hands to wash his body and scrub off the sweat of his morning's workout and the smell of latex from a few minutes ago, Nikita stepped in behind him.

"Need some help?" She asked spontaneously as she wrapped her arms around his torso and kissed the back of his neck.

"No, no, no. Not this time. We really need to get ready babe." He said as he turned around.

Nikita pouted at him. "I was just being friendly here, sailor. I'm not that greedy." She replied.

Michael smiled at her as he tilted her head back and lightly dropped his lips on hers for a wet, teasing kiss. "Well in that case," He whispered huskily. "I don't think I mind a little help." He finished then handed Nikita the sponge.

They took turns washing each other's bodies under the warm water as they passionately savor each other's lips.

Somehow, being in this shower like this reminded them both of their honeymoon. It truly was a great day.

"We should pick this up later." Michael murmured against his wife's swollen lips and pushed a stray of wet locks from her eyes.

Nikita smiled. "We'll see," She whispered. "But that would depend on you." Her eyes traveled at his hard on and back to his eyes as she stepped out of the shower.

Michael silently laughed to himself as he turned off the water. He's looking forward to dessert for sure tonight.

888

After Michael had finished getting dressed, he finally went to the girl's rooms to see if they were getting ready just fine. Sean had already called again to make sure they were still on board.

He saw that Steph and Izzie were ready but Hayley wasn't yet. He poked his head in the room and called for his daughter.

"Hales, honey?"

The shower in the room was running.

"I'm in the shower dad; I'll be out in a few." Hayley replied.

He figured.

"Okay, just hurry up honey." He said.

He was about to leave the room immediately but Hayley's phone begin to uncontrollably buzz on the drawer. Not that he meant to be snooping but he's curious.

He didn't necessarily go through her phone for information. He just peaked on the screen and there was a text message alert on the locked screen.

_From José: We're gonna have so much fun!_

"Oh…"

Michael slowly walked out of the room without touching anything. He went to his room where Nikita was now changing the sheets and fixing the bed.

He plopped down on the messy bed and supported himself with his shoulders.

"Who's José?" He asked straight forwardly.

Nikita frowned. "Which José are we talking about here?" She asked back.

Michael raised his eyebrows. "How many José (es) do you know?"

"Hayley's friend?" Nikita said.

Michael nodded. "I was hoping you'd know." He told her. "Now what's this thing I heard that's going to be so much fun?" He quoted.

Nikita rolled her eyes. "He's just a friend of hers Michael. They're just going out for pizza tomorrow."

"Pshh, pizza my ass." Michael said. "And why the hell didn't anybody tell me about this?"

"Because she told me and I said yes." Nikita replied.

"Well did you maybe think that I'd like to know that?" Michael asked.

Nikita rolled her eyes. "Don't be a dick, Michael." She said. "Hayley's thirteen. She needs to have some type of social interaction out of school."

"I'm not disagreeing with that." Michael interrupted. "But no daughter of mine is going out with a boy that I don't even know about."

Nikita sighed. "And you wonder why she didn't ask you?"

Michael groaned. "It's call being protective, babe." He said. "Little boys when they turn thirteen and up, they're really hormonal and they begin to hunt pretty little girls." He explained. "They make them believe that they're in love with them and steal all their sugar."

Nikita had to bite her lips really hard not to burst in laughter. She has three daughters and God knows this is only the beginning of him being protective.

_And sugar? Where does he come up with that stuff?_

"Michael, what in the world are you even talking about?" She laughed. "She's thirteen and it's only pizza. You need to chill before you end up in a hospital."

"Sure." Michael said sarcastically.

Nikita climbed on the bed then kissed his lip lightly and stroked his cheek. "Look, I understand where you're coming from but you have to trust Hayley on this. She needs to feel comfortable being around boys her own age." She reasoned. "Nobody's going to steal her sugar yet because we raised her well enough."

"Fine." Michael sighed.

_Oh oh…_

"Promise me you're not going to have a whole background check on the boy or hire a private investigator to shadow them on their date?" Nikita said.

That _fine _sure as hell wasn't convincing enough to her and knowing her husband as well as she does, she knew Michael was definitely up to something.

"Oh, why would I do something so absurd?" Michael mocked sarcastically.

"I'm being serious, Michael." Nikita said.

"Me too." Michael laughed.

"Promise?" Nikita asked as she kissed his lips.

Michael nodded. "Promise." He murmured.

"Oh God." Nikita sighed to herself as Michael left the room once again. She's going to have to go through that not once with Hayley but a million more as Stephanie and Izzie grow older.

888

"Stephanie Denise DaSilva!" Michael called throughout the spacious house.

Stephanie came strolling down the stairs as fast as she could at her father's call. Her heart was racing a thousand miles per second and she was certain that she was in trouble.

"Yes daddy?" Steph asked.

"Step into my office. ASAP."

"Oh no." Stephanie murmured to herself as she followed her father to his home office.

"Am I in trouble?" Stephanie asked.

Michael shook his head. "Nope." He kissed the little girl's hair as he pulled out a chair for her. "I need you to be a spy right now."

Well he promised Nikita that he wouldn't hire a professional private investigator. He never said that he wasn't going to brose his way around it. Why pay for what you can do on your own? In Michael's mind spying on Hayley for twenty four hours was a necessary evil.

"Who are we spying on?" Stephanie asked.

"Hayley." Michael sighed.

Stephanie smiled. "I already like this operation." She said smilingly. "But why exactly are we spying on her?"

"Well she's going out on a date with a boy tomorrow and I need some Intels." Michael replied.

"Easy." Stephanie said. "One question first."

"Shoot." Michael drummed his hand on the desk.

"Am I going to go through all that when I'm Hayley's age?" The almost seven year old asked.

Michael nodded. "Probably." He replied truthfully.

"Oh boy." Stephanie cried. "Alright, what's my cut?"

"You really are your mother's child." Michael said as he pulled out his wallet.

"Fifty."

"Double that."

"Forty."

"Dad?"

"Alright, hundred it is." Michael said. "And God, since when did you become such a business woman?"

"Right now." Steph said.

Michael rolled his eyes. "If you can peak at her diary, try." He said.

He knew this was wrong but come on; every single parent in this world had a certain amount of paranoia and overprotection in their blood for their kids. Especially when they're teenage girls.

"How about another hundred?" Steph said.

"What? That's a rip off!" Michael cried.

"Peaking into Hayley's diary can be my death. I wanna die rich dad." Stephanie said. "And besides, you want good Intels right?"

That little girl… ah.

"Two hundred it is." Michael said.

"Great doing business with you, pops." Stephanie kissed her dad's lips before she bolted out of the office.


	2. New Family Member

"Mom!"

Nikita was immediately ambushed in the kitchen by her six year old running around the place like a maniac.

"Mom, help!" The six year old was almost breathless as her older sister chased after her.

"Mom, help me. Hayley's trying to kill me." The little girl cried as she hid behind her mother.

Nikita sighed then looked down and picked the six year old up in her arms.

"Nobody's killing anybody here." She said.

"Why can't she ever listen?" Hayley asked her mother furiously with crossed arms. "Why can't she stay out of my personal business?"

"Slow down." Nikita said.

The girls took a deep breath. They were both exhausted from running around after each other.

"Why are you guys trying to kill each other?" Nikita asked.

"Mom, she went to my diary."

"Hey, I didn't go. I peaked." Stephanie objected.

"What's the difference?" Hayley raised her eyebrow.

"You caught me before I got to read like a good paragraph of what you wrote the whole week." Stephanie replied.

"Now do you see why I'm going to kill her?" Hayley asked.

Nikita rolled her eyes. "Alright," She sighed. "Whichever one of you says the word _'kill' _again, you'll be sent to your room because last time I checked, you guys weren't raised like animals and you're not going to start being one today." She said severely.

"So this is my fault?" Hayley cried with an unbelievable look on her face. "You know what? Fine. Fine! I'm going to my room anyways." The thirteen year old said furiously. "Honestly right now, I hate you all. I hate you!"

"Hayley!" Nikita called.

"Leave me alone!"

"Go to your room and don't come back down again!"

Nikita heard one of the bedroom doors slam loudly. "I wasn't planning to!" Hayley's rebellious yell came next.

Nikita looked at Stephanie in her arms and her heart just broke at the look of sadness in the little girl's eyes.

"I didn't mean to, mom." Stephanie apologized. "I was just…"

The little girl didn't want to rat her dad out but she knew her mom would figure it out one way or another.

"You were just what?" Nikita asked.

"Nothing." Steph replied. "I didn't mean to and now my sister hates me."

Nikita put the child down on her feet and just watched her run off through the backyard with tears in her eyes.

Yeah… in moments like these, being a mother kind of sucks.

But she will take care of it as soon as Michael gets back from Sean's house. She knows too well that he's the one that told Stephanie to do his dirty work for him and now she has to deal with the hate and cries.

888

When Michael came home, the house was quiet and only a few lights were on. He frowned to himself. This doesn't look like his home. His home is always full of noise with all six televisions on and kids running around driving his wife crazy. Right now it was just quiet and he didn't like it.

"Hello?" He shouted. "Where are my wife and kids?"

He went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water before making his way up to his master bedroom.

He walked in and there sat his wife with an _'I'm-angry-at-you-so-don't-even-try-to-be-charming-right-now' look _with a book in her hands.

"Okay?" He questioned silently.

Nikita sighed then closed the book. "You're unbelievable." She said.

"I know." He joked. "That's why you married me in the first place. I'm unbelievable."

Nikita ran her fingers through her long hair furiously. She was actually being serious right now and he was joking his way out of this.

"I told you to not freaking do a whole background check or spy on that kid and what did you do? You did exactly that and it was world war fucking three here with Hayley and Stephanie all because you made Stephanie do what you promised me you wouldn't do!" She scolded. "That's not fucking funny."

Alright, now it's rising to world war fifteen pretty quickly actually.

Michael took a seat at the edge of the bed and grabbed his wife's feet and kissed them.

Nikita rolled her eyes. "Don't you dare try to charm your way out of this." She said.

"I'm not." Michael replied as he massaged her small feet. "I can't help it." He begin. "I mean she's thirteen now, Nikita. I'm her father. Those types of things are what worry me. Those little thirteen year old boys, I don't like them because I don't know which one of them will break her heart." He said.

"I understand that, Michael." Nikita replied. "I'm the mother but they're growing up and soon enough, they won't need us so that choice on whether or not she gets her heart broken is on her. Not on us." She said. "If you wanted to know the boy she was going out with tomorrow, all you had to do was ask her. She's thirteen. You can understand how she feels when her right of privacy is no longer hers."

That was kind of a weird way to word things but it's very true.

"Was it that bad?" Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.

Nikita nodded. "Hayley wanted to kill Stephanie and I had to send her to her room." She informed. "You know how rare it is for me to even yell at any of them."

"Yeah." Michael whispered. "I'm sorry." He said.

"You should be." Nikita told him.

Michael climbed on the bed on top of his wife and kissed her lips gently and lightly stroked her hair. "I'm sorry." He murmured against her lips.

Nikita nodded again. "Apology accepted." She whispered. "Now, go talk to Hayley and get Stephanie out of the tent in the backyard or you get no sex tonight." She almost commanded with a smack on the bottom.

"You're so evil!" Michael groaned.

888

Michael had gone outside expecting Stephanie to be in the tent but when he turned on the light, there she was playing with a filthy dog.

"Whatchu got there, princess?" He asked the little girl as he crashed down next to her on the grass.

"She's hungry, daddy." Stephanie said.

Michael looked at the light colored animal and patted her head. "What's your name, hunh?" He asked.

"Foxxy." Stephanie replied while showing her father the collar that had the dog's name printed. "Can we keep her dad?" The little girl asked.

Michael shook his head. "It's not our dog, baby." He replied.

"But she could be." Stephanie said. "She's hungry, and homeless. Why can't we just take her?"

"Unfortunately baby, if we just took her, we could go to jail." Michael explained.

"But she's sweet." Stephanie begged. "Look into those dark brown eyes and tell me you don't want to keep her here."

Michael did and apparently that was a mistake. The poor dog mewled at him shyly and bowed to lick his hand.

"Please daddy." Stephanie asked.

"We can't." Michael said.

"Can we at least take her inside?" Stephanie pleaded again. "We can feed her and give her a bath then we can try and find her owner."

Michael hummed. "I guess we can do that."

…

Hayley was sitting on her bed facing the wall when she heard her door burst and a huge dog came busting into her room and knocking her over the bed playfully.

"Hey!" She giggled. "Who do you belong to?" She asked.

"Foxxy…"

"Foxxy!"

"Where'd you go?"

Foxxy had ran up the stairs as soon as she was set free and now Stephanie was looking everywhere for the dog.

"Foxxy!"

And then there she was on Hayley's bed already bonding.

"I-I'm sorry." Stephanie apologized. _"Foxxy didn't mean to invade your so called privacy."_ The little girl said grudgefully.

She still didn't forget that her sister said she hated her earlier.

Hayley smiled sadly at her little sister. "It's okay." She said in a friendly tone. "Is she ours?"

Stephanie shook her head. "No. I wish." She replied. "I found her hanging out in the backyard." She said. "But dad says that we can't keep her. We're just going to feed her and give her a bath then call the animal shelter."

"Oh." Hayley said sadly as she cuddled the filthy light brown furred animal.

"Do you wanna help me bathe her?" Stephanie asked.

"Sure."

888

The light outside the backyard was flashed brightly and the hose was also on and from the window of her room, Nikita could hear giggles and laugher as she was flipping over the television channel in her room for something interesting to watch.

"_Give me the soap."_

"_Good girl, Foxxy."_

"_Aw, aren't you a cutie? Aw!"_

"What the heck?" Nikita thought to herself before she decided to shrug. Maybe it's the next door neighbor but she's also pretty sure she heard Stephanie's, Hayley's and Izzie's voice.

Who's Foxxy?

She didn't know. She didn't care. She didn't bother looking through the window.

888

The girls had just finished washing off the dog and as soon as the door opened, Foxxy did the same thing again. She ran to Hayley's room and lie on the warm blanket with her body still wet from her bubble bath.

"Where'd she go?" Michael asked.

Stephanie shrugged. "I don't know." She replied.

They looked back and forth at each other before following the dog's wet footsteps upstairs.

They found the female dog lying on Hayley's bed, hyperventilating with current short breaths and closed eyes.

"Oh no!" Stephanie cried. "What's wrong?"

"Dad, what's happening to her?" Hayley asked.

Michael shrugged. He's not a veterinarian. He's an architect for God' sakes! The only doctor in this house is Nikita.

"Get mom over here." Hayley commanded Izzie as she went to the bathroom to get a dried towel to dry off the dog.

"Maybe she's just cold." Stephanie said.

…

Meanwhile in Nikita's room…

She heard her door open in panic mode and her two year old daughter busted the door open.

"Oh, hi, mama." Nikita greeted her two year old daughter as she pulled her on the bed. "I thought you were sleeping?"

"Foxxy woke me up." Izzie replied. "Come on, mommy. She needs helps."

"Who-what?"

Nikita didn't even get the chance to even put on some shoes. She was already being dragged out of bed.

"Foxxy needs your help mama."

…

When Nikita got to Hayley's room, there it was. Everyone was pretty much wet. Water was dripping on the mosaic floor but no one seemed to care as they cuddled the big, wet dog.

"Anybody want to explain to me what's going on here?" She asked.

"Is she going to be okay?" Hayley turned to her mother anxiously.

Nikita finally took a closer look at the dog and checked her pulse. She's not a veterinarian. She takes care of people and make sure they're healthy for a living. In medical school she learned a little bit of everything and it seemed like Ms. Foxxy here was about to give birth.

"Come on, bring her downstairs." Nikita said.

"She'll be fine right?" Steph asked.

"Yeah." Nikita replied. "She's just in a little bit of pain and maybe a little dehydrated too." She said.

Michael carried the pregnant animal down the slippery stairs with caution as the girls settled a wide blanket on the floor.

The door bell rang just as soon as Michael settled the female dog on the floor. It was Alex, Sean and Aleksandr. Apparently, Steph had called and specifically told her aunt that it was _urgent._

"What's going on?" Alex asked. "What's the world crisis that's going on? I came as soon as I could." She said not even looking at the ground.

"It's not exactly a crisis." Nikita told her sister. "The girls might have exaggerated just a little bit."

"Look, daddy." Little Aleksandr tapped on her daddy's hips to get their attention as he poked the dog's stomach.

"Whoa, ok!" Sean exclaimed as he watched the first little poppy pop out.

Literally the weirdest thing he's ever seen.

Oh my God!

Another popped out again just like the first one. And then three more after that following the same process as the first two.

Everyone just stood there with that look on their face that was actually quite indescribable. This really just happened.

They watched Foxxy care for her five little newborn puppies with a glow of happiness. She showered them with her tongue as a cleaning technique and kept them warm and close to her protectively.

It was quite beautiful.

Nobody dared to say a word as they were so amazed. Everyone each took a seat and just watched until the next morning strike.

They ended up making a moment out of it and they weren't sure if they'd ever forget this really happened. For the kids, it was probably the coolest thing ever but for Michael and Nikita it was a little deeper than that.

Like a dog legit gave birth in their living room.

They provided the dog enough water to be hydrated and enough food to be able to care for her puppies also.

Maybe after a few hours, Foxxy finally let Stephanie get close to her newly born puppies.

They were a mixture of Labrador and Golden Retrievers, Beagles, and Jack Russell Terrier. The two cutest were the Beagle and the Golden Retriever.

That look in the girl's eyes when they finally got to hold one of each puppies was absolutely joyful and both Michael and Nikita knew they were in trouble then and there.

There's no way in hell they wouldn't beg to keep them. But what can they do? They're falling for the puppies too.

Around nine in the morning, they finally called the vet and the animal shelter after almost seven hours of the birth.

They came immediately and as soon as the shelter people walked in, the girls were already asking if they could get the puppies.

Of course they would.

The vet did a check on all five puppies and the mother too. He clarified that everything was healthy and that Foxxy did a great job.

They contacted Foxxy's legal owner shortly after that and the woman was there as soon as possible. It was one of those moments that make someone grateful to be alive.

It was a great Sunday morning. Exhausting, but great.

…

"Thank you so much." Rachel said as she cuddled Foxxy.

Nikita smiled at her daughters and nephew. "Don't thank us." She said as she wrapped her arms around her husband's waist. "Thank them."

Rachel looked over at the four kids and smiled. "Hey, do you guys want one of the puppies?" She asked.

Stephanie's eyes widen. "Are you being serious, lady?" The little girl asked.

Rachel nodded. "Yeah." She replied. "I think you deserve it. Besides, I don't think I can handle five puppies all on my own." She whispered with a wink.

Stephanie was bursting of happiness inside but she knew her parents had to agree first before she gets her hopes too high.

"Can we, mom?" Hayley asked.

"Pwease, daddy?" Izzie added.

"Yeah, Uncle Michael." Aleksandr said.

Both Michael and Nikita sighed. "Ah, what the heck?" They both said in unison.

"YES!" Stephanie jumped in happiness.

"Ah, ah, ah," Michael begin.

"I knew there was a _but_ coming." Hayley said.

"There's always a _but_." Steph added sarcastically.

Everyone chuckled.

"But whichever one you guys decide to keep, it's your responsibility to take care of him/her." Michael said.

"That means feeding him/her." Nikita elaborated.

"Walking, play, discipline and most importantly, love him/her."

"DEAL."

888

After maybe a few hours of sleep, the family woke up later in the afternoon to go to the pet shop to buy the things that their new puppy, Lola needed.

As Steph was getting ready, she heard a knock on her door and it was all her family waiting at the door. Moments like these makes her feel petrified. When the whole family is gathered together, then you know someone did something wrong.

But this time she was both scared and confused because she literally just woke up and went to take a shower so she really didn't have the time to cause trouble for herself.

"Steph, honey, we need to talk." Michael begin.

"Okay, I'm scared." Stephanie admitted. "But hey, welcome to mi cuarto familia."

(She was learning Spanish from her friend.)

Nikita chuckled. She really did raise three wonderful children but her first born is a very special child. She doesn't know what it is about her kids, but Stephanie was different in her own good kind of way. Maybe it was the fact that she was sarcastic.

"Come here, Chiquita." Nikita walked in the room and picked up Stephanie in her arms as Michael followed with Izzie in his arms.

"Steph, both daddy and Hayley have something to say to you, baby." Nikita said.

"Okay."

"I'll go first." Hayley volunteered.

"Still okay." Steph repeated.

"About what I said last night, I'm really sorry Steph." Hayley said sincerely. "I was angry and I said things I didn't mean because no matter how mad I can get at you for always peaking into my things, I could never hate you. You're my baby sister and I'm sorry if I made you feel sad." She apologized.

Steph swallowed back her tears and nodded. "I have something to say too." She said.

"What is it?" Hayley asked.

"I don't mean to always peak in your stuff." Steph said. "I just do it because I wish I could be like you sometimes. You're beautiful, people like you at school and you're popular. You're just so much more interesting than I am." Tears sprung in the little girl's eyes and it made Nikita emotional. "I have other friends too, but you're my best friend. I don't want you to hate me so I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry too for peaking in your diary and your phone almost every day."

Oh the phone too! Hell...

Self control Hayley… you just apologized.

"It's okay." Hayley said. "And you're wrong. A lot of people like you too. You just happen to be my favorite baby sister in the world so I guess that's why we fight so much."

"Hey. I'm still here missy!" Izzie murmured.

Michael chuckled. "You're included too, mama."

"Is this the part where you hug me?" Steph asked smilingly.

"Oh, come here!" Hayley squealed.

This is her family. And though she still doesn't like the snooping, it's just something that she's gonna have to live with. Somehow, it made her feel like she's loved and she couldn't be mad at that.

She picked up Hayley from Nikita's lap and hugged her sister tightly. They were better loving than fighting.

And in the end it's all a win-win for everyone.

"Michael," Nikita nudged him at his rib.

The deal was that he apologizes to Hayley for having Steph do his dirty work.

"Okay." Michael groaned. "I also have something to say."

Steph and Hayley pulled away from their hug and looked at their father.

"All three of you," Michael begin.

Seriously, at this point he's on the verge of forgetting how many times he's given this speech for different reasons.

"I love all three of you so very much." He said.

It was nothing new the kids didn't know.

"And when I think of you growing up, Hayley, it scares me because just yesterday, you were just learning how to crawl." He continued.

Hayley hid her face in her hands embarrassingly.

"You're my little princess regardless of how old you are and I just want to be able to protect you at all times. Specially from those hormonal teenage boys."

"You used big words daddy." Izzie poked Michael's nose.

Nikita chuckled.

Izzie was two. What did she know about all this anyways?

Michael kissed Izzie's little fingers as he continued. "It was wrong of me to have Steph peak into your diary." He acknowledged.

"It's fine dad." Hayley said. "I know you're obsessed with the need to protect all of us at all times but you need to trust me just like mom does. You both raised me with enough knowledge on how to handle myself. I know that I'm just thirteen but I'm old enough to understand certain things. And besides, if you wanted to know more about José, all you had to do was ask me about him."

"See, didn't I tell you?" Nikita bragged. "You never listen to me."

Not helping!

"I'm sorry sweetheart." Michael said. "And I want you to know that I do trust you. I just want that boy to know if he ever tries anything twisted, I'm there."

And to think neither of them were eighteen yet.

"What are you gonna do when I go to college?" Hayley teased.

"Don't mention it." Michael rolled his eyes. "Just get in here and give me a hug."

"Ah, we love you daddy." Steph kissed her father's lips. "You're the best daddy in the world."

"And I'm still cute!" Izzie clapped her hands.

Both Steph and Hayley rolled their eyes.

That little girl and her smart mouth. But don't worry though, soon, she'll be old enough for some pranking and payback for all the years of crushing their self-esteem.

She's only two though. It's only gonna get worse as it is. She already thinks she's Miss America.

Darn it!

"You still ripped me off." Michael whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Nikita asked.

"We're not discussing this!" Steph spoke through gritted teeth as she covered her dad's mouth.

Oh boy! If her mother finds out she hustled her father and still peaked in Hayley's diary… Don't try to think about what will happen.

"What happened between a DaSilva and another DaSilva stays between them. We don't talk about. Especially if it involves Stephanie Denise DaSilva."

Nikita frowned confusingly and raised her hands in surrender.

She doesn't even want to know.

"This isn't over." Michael whispered again.

Nikita rolled her eyes. "Just kiss me, you sexy hunk."

"Oh Ew. Come on guys. Not again!" Hayley complained.

"I'm proud of you, baby." Nikita whispered against Michael's lips.


End file.
